The Halls Are Alive
by Madame Pomme
Summary: G.E.A.R has taken everything from everyone of us. Be it a home, a friend, a family, or a neighbor, they have taken them away. We are done with hiding, done with waiting for the friends who will never return to us. So we are making a stand. We are the Abnormals, and G.E.A.R better watch out, because we're coming for them. [Superhuman AU]
1. Chapter One

**Hello there!**

 **Welcome to The Halls Are Alive, glad you could join me. This is a superhuman/mutant AU, and it might be somewhat dark.**

 **That said, I need abilities for certain nations, so if you have some please tell me!**

 **The girl with the ghosts.**

 _'Hel..., My na... s Nata...a Arl...kaya. I c... see th... They... n't lis... No on... list... Wh... n't th... liste... I coul... te.. them thi... I could hel... Wh... on't they le.. me hel...'_

"Do you know what to make of it?"

"Subject 113 seems to be acting up again, sir."

"I want someone in there. The subject needs to be apprehended."

"Yes, sir."

-Linebreak-

 _'Wh... on't they le... me hel...'_

"...When was it taken?"

"I don't know, Alfred. It doesn't look old."

"She could still be there, then! We have to help her! C'mon Artie!"

The so called 'Artie' was currently sat at his desk, looking through some files on his laptop. One of his arms was being pulled on by 'Alfred'.

"We can't just storm into G.E.A.R and demand to see her. We've caused enough trouble already, I think we need to lie low for a while." Alfred must have known this too, considering how Artie wasn't being dragged across the floor.

"Besides" Artie continued, "we don't even know if she's still in there. Or even if she's still alive."

"Mmmm, you know it's not a good idea to talk like that. We have to believe we can save her."

"Believing stupid things like that will only get you hurt. You know that."

"I know, Arthur, but I want to believe that there are heroes in this world. People like us who stand against corruption."

The man now named Arthur sighed. "...You've been watching too many movies. Aha!"

Alfred jumped, startled. He scurried back over to the desk and peered over Arthur's shoulder.

"Did you find something?"

"I found her subject file. Look here, subject 113, Natalya Arlovskaya, female, 19. The notes say thing like 'she can see things that aren't there' and 'she claimed to see beastly looking figures in the corners of rooms'. What does that sound like to you?"

"It sounds like she can see demons."

"And ghosts. There are accounts of her talking to what she said were pale, bloody figures."

Alfred gave a nervous laugh, "Heh, ghosts, yeah... yeah... ghosts..."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Yes, Alfred, _ghosts_. She's been there since she was nine. There's nothing in the files about her being discharged or moved anywhere, she might still be there. _No_ , that does not mean we are doing anything about it"

Alfred didn't seem to be listening. He was staring intently at the computer. He showed no signs of having heard Arthur.

"... ' _I could help. Why won't they let me help_ '..."

"What?"

"She wanted to help someone. Who?" Alfred knitted his eyebrows.

"Wha... How in the bloody hell am I supposed to know?"

"Artie... what if they have her family?" Alfred sounded very somber.

"And how did you jump to that conclusion?"

"' _I could help. Why won't they let me help_ '." He repeated.

"Yes, I know that. I heard it too."

"She wants to help. She wouldn't want to help if it wasn't someone important to her. Her friends or family. Maybe G.E.A.R has them too. Artie. Artie... we have to help them." Seeing the look on Arthur's face, he added, "Maybe not now, maybe later. But next time we launch a rescue mission. I want to help her."

Arthur sighed again, "I want to help her as well, but we have to be careful. Setting up a rescue mission haphazardly could make the situation even more complicated."

"So what do you suggest we do?"

Arthur didn't say anything, he just played the video again and again. His eyes scanned the screen for anything that could give the location away.

All that the computer screen showed was a white wall that looked like it was made of painted brick. There was not any sign of the reddish brown that bricks usually were. Nor was there anything else shown. The video was shaky.

"... I want you to call up the group. We might be in over our heads."

-Linebreak-

"The subject is sedated and apprehended, sir."

"Good. How does the situation look?"

"No other subject caught wind of 113's little plot, sir."

"And you're absolutely sure no one else saw the video?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. We don't need to loose anymore subjects."


	2. Chapter Two

**Sorry this wasn't updated sooner, I've been kind of held up with exams and stuff. I still need power ideas, though I doubt anyone cares. I can't promise updates will be frequent, but I'm trying.**

 **The insane plan.**

"Subject 113 is rejecting the sedatives."

"If you can't convince her to take them, do it by force. We don't have time to keep dealing with 113's outbursts."

"Yes, sir."

-Linebreak-

A group of seven people sat in a dimly lit room around a small coffee table. Five sat on one side, with two on the other. Many of the group seemed uneasy and impatient.

"So, what is this all about Arthur?"

"Ahh, yes, Ludwig, you see," Arthur took a deep breath, "We recently found a video on one of G.E.A.R's files. It was only on for a second, but I managed to move a copy of it before it was deleted entirely."

He pulled his laptop over and turned it on. Turning it towards the group of five, which included Ludwig, he pressed play.

 _'Hel..._

 _Nata...a Arl...kaya..._

 _No on... list..._

 _I coul... hel..._

 _le.. me hel...'_

The room was silent.

"...Yes, well. Her name is Natalya Arlovskaya. Alfred and I recon she can see ghosts or spirits or demons or something of the sort. In her file it says the claims to be able to see strange things. Alfred also thinks she has family or friends who are being held captive by G.E.A.R as well, considering she says she wants to help."

"And what do you suggest we do about it?"

"Well, Francis, I was thinking that the compound where she is being held could be our next target."

"And uh, what makes you think we'll go along with you?"

"Lovi~ come on, don't be like that."

"Who are you to boss me around, Feli?"

"'Ahem'" Arthur cleared his throat. "Feliciano, Lovino has every right to be suspicious. Lovino, you are a necessity to our missions." Lovino sniffed and turned his head up. Arthur turned to everyone, "You _all_ are an important part in our missions. Without any one of you, we would not have rescued so many of us."

Lovino snorted, "Yeah, all three of them. That's _sooo_ many."

Alfred spoke up for the first time this meeting, "It may not be many, but if we didn't have even one of you, that number would be much less. Besides, there may be so many others in her compound."

"If nothing else, another break out would make G.E.A.R more paranoid. It would mess with their heads." A small voice said.

"Exactly, Matthew. That said, G.E.A.R will have turned up security since last time-"

"And why are you the leader, anyway!"

"Uhh, maybe because he's the one that can do literal _magic?_ " Alfred piped up.

Arthur glared at him. "It's not _magic,_ you git."

"Yeah, sure it's not. He started the Resistance, so he's the leader."

"Thank you, Alfred, I can handle myself."

"Uh huh, sure you can." Alfred rolled his eyes.

"What is it you have planned, Arthur?" Ludwig asked suddenly.

"I was thinking...that this could be a continuous assault. Hit a smaller, less protected compound to get more allies. Work our way upto the big compound that this Natalya is in."

"How do you know her's is a larger one?" asked Feliciano.

"I assessed the area the video showed. It was taken outside, since you can see some shadows in the bottom. The wall is white, and the only white buildings near G.E.A.R are the large compounds that house up to fifty people. All the smaller ones are gray, they didn't bother painting them."

They all nodded. Even Lovino seemed content with this answer.

"The first compound I want to hit is about nine kilometres from here. It houses one or two prisoners, and there are only ever ten to twenty guards at any time of day. The captives obviously aren't much of a threat to G.E.A.R, or there would be much more security. The only problem is that it is on the edge of the city."

"Meaning?" Ludwig prompted.

"Meaning that if anything goes wrong, someone could hear it. Reinforcements are able to get to the site much faster than many other compounds. It might be a problem."

Ludwig nodded and agreed. "But if that is the case, we can have someone keep watch and take care of those reinforcements.

"Precisely. Though I was hoping that we could take this stealthily. That is why I chose this compound to hit first."

"Do you know who is being kept there?" Francis asked.

"Not yet. I might be able to find out."

"I think it would be best to know before rushing into the building."

"As much as I hate to say it, you're absolutely right."

-Linebreak-

"Sir, 113 is reacting violently. One of our scientists is incapacitated."

"Send her to her room. I want gas pumped in there. The non-fatal type, please. She's too valuable to kill for now."

"Of course, sir."


	3. Chapter Three

**The master list.**

"I want subjects 187 and 134 brought to the test chambers immediately."

"Yes, sir."

"Make sure at least three men are guarding the area at all times."

"Yes, sir."

-Linebreak-

Arthur's eyes slid across the page so quickly that many would find it impossible to take in any of the words. He wasn't so much reading the document as much as just skimming.

 _'Subject 113, Natalya Arlovskaya, ghosts'_

 _'Subject 134, Kiku Honda, enhanced reflexes'_

 _'Subject 152, Lilli Zwingli, healing'_

 _'Subject 187, Feliks Łukasiewicz, resurrection'_

 _'Subject 209 'ESCAPED', Erzsébet Héderváry, conjuration'_

 _'Subject 226, Eduard von Bock, technological projection'_

Many many more numbers were listed, from 63 to 511, along with names and brief, one word descriptions of what Arthur assumed were their powers.

Numbers, names, abilities.

' _Assumed dangerous, this breed of superhumans are thought to of developed extra genes during meiosis. These genes manifest differently in every one of them. Whatever causes it, society has taken to calling them the Abnormals. Many of them seem disturbed. Tests are being performed to see exactly what causes this abnormality and how it becomes such powers.'_

The page was signed off with,

' _Genetic Experimentation and Analytical Research,_

 _Department of Experimentation,_

 _Assistant Director of Experiments,_

 _Lisa DiVaulderbilt'_

Arthur was almost offended. Dangerous? Disturbed? But of course, he had to remember that people will hate things that they don't understand. It was embedded in society.

Number, names, abilities.

He knew he had stumbled across a goldmine of information. This list...it was obviously not meant for anyone outside of G.E.A.R to see. Arthur assumed it was a master list of every prisoner that had ever been in their facility. Some of them had 'deceased' or 'moved' next to their numbers. He scrolled and scrolled. Number after number. Name after name.

There was a 'Raivis', an 'Antonio', a 'Yao', a 'Roderich', a 'Berwald', an 'Emil'. There was 111, 96, 432, 385, 220, and 335. There was teleportation, enchantment, plant manipulation, transformation, and imperviablility.

Numbers, names, abilities.

But no where did it say they were being held. No buildings or compounds or cities were listed anywhere on the document.

That's what he had hoped for.

Something that would tell him where to strike. That would tell him where the prisons were instead of having to scout for them. Instead of wandering blindly, searching for a compound to break into.

 _'Subject 469 'ESCAPED', Matthew Williams, invisibility'_

There was a note below this one.

 _'Due to over-experimentation, the subject's invisibility has become somewhat permanent. The degree at which 469's invisibility acts is known to fluctuate.'_

Poor boy. He was the first they rescued. He was the first to join their cause. Matthew helped infiltrate the other two compounds, to free the other two inmates. He's been a great help to their efforts.

Arthur kept looking.

Numbers, names, abilities.

Over and over and over again.

 _'126-_

 _447-_

 _501-_

 _Lukas-_

 _Toris-_

 _Ivan-_

 _Immortality-_

 _Gills-_

 _Persuasion-_

 _379-_

 _Michelle-_

 _109-_

 _Soporific-'_

Numbers, names, abilities.

-Linebreak-

"The subjects have been moved, sir."

"Thank you, Dr. DiVaulderbilt. See to it that they are sedated and prepared for testing."

"Right away, sir"


	4. Chapter Four

**Mission Status: SUCCESS**

 _-Some months before 113's video-_

 _-Unknown location, America-_

 _-G.E.A.R compound-_

"There's been a disturbance in sector 3-"

"Unidentified intruders near sector 7-"

"I saw one! Search sector 1-"

Footsteps pounded on the ground. Armed men and women in full bulletproof armour stormed in and out of short gray buildings. Walkie-talkies were screaming with static and frantic voices.

"I need backup on sector 13-"

Unconscious bodies littered the floor. Many were covered in burn marks. There were no bullets, no guns, no weapons.

"They're nearing sector 9! All men on me-"

In the middle of all this chaos, a young man stood calmly. He held a large leather bound book. If anyone were to listen, they would hear voices coming from that book. The man's clothes rippled, though there was no wind.

The man sighed. He had hoped for a simple mission, but of course, his group hardly felt the same.

Elsewhere in the compound, another young man pounded through hallways, opening door after door only to find the rooms empty. His clothes were ripped from bullets, but there was no sign of blood. He opened another door. Empty.

"Hey"

The man turned back into the room. Looking around, there was no one in there. He looked again. This time, a boy sat couched in the corner. He seemed scared.

"A-are you here to... to help? I saw you... I saw you opening the o-other doors."

The man smiled. "Kesese, of course I'm here to help..." He trailed off and put a finger to his ear. "... Yeah, yeah, I found one. All the others are empty... What do you mean 'reinforcements'? Who screwed this up?... Ugh, yeah I've got him."

He turned to the boy.

"What's your name?"

"My... my name? Oh uh, my name's... my name is Matthew."

"Alrighty Matthew. I'm Gilbert. I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?"

"Uh... o-okay... um... Gilbert."

The man, Gilbert, grabbed Matthew's hand and gently pulled him up. He was unhealthily thin. His clothes were tattered. Gilbert kept hold of Matthew's hand as they walked out of the room...

Straight into a hallway filled with guards.

"Stand Down. We are prepared to shoot."

Gilbert simply looked at them calmly and stated, "Go ahead".

"Stay behind me." He whispered to Matthew.

The boy was terrified, but nodded and moved behind Gilbert anyway.

They started to back away from the guards slowly.

The guards fired.

The bullets hit Gilbert.

They ripped through his shirt.

They hit the ground with a clang.

Gilbert's skin was smoking, but no blood was present.

"Run, Mattie!"

They broke into a sprint just as the guards snapped out of their stupor. The halls were filled with the sound of footsteps. They ran for the fence that surrounded the entire compound. Bullets whizzed past. Guards were yelling.

"Mattie, on the count of three, I'm going to boost you over the fence. Be prepared to grab it!"

"Okay!" It was the loudest he had spoke in a long, long time.

"One... two... THREE!" Gilbert trusted Matthew over the fence just as a bullet hit Gilbert's arm. It ricocheted off his skin and hit the leg of a woman being him, if the yell was anything to be based on.

Matthew didn't have to worry about grabbing the fence. He flew right over it, and hit the ground hard.

"Get up, keep running, you'll meet up with my friends!"

Matthew scrambled to his feet and took off. He finally felt free again. He ran past trees and into the forest. He kept running, as fast as he could. He heard the fence groan as Gilbert started to climb. He heard the gunfire. He kept running.

He kept running until he ran straight into a body with such force that the person he hit was thrown to the ground.

"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? I'm really sorry..."

The man in question, who was currently on the floor, stared at him for a second.

"You are the one Gilbert found?"

"Kesese, yes he is! You alright there, Luddy?" Gilbert appeared next to Matthew.

The man he had ran into, Luddy, nodded and stood, brushing the leaves from his pants.

Matthew piped up, "Who are you all?"

A man with a large book answered. "I am Arthur Kirkland. The man you hit is Ludwig Beilschmidt, the man who found you is Gilbert Beilschmidt. And these ones" he pointed to a group of people to his left, "are Alfred F. Jones, Francis Bonnefoy, and Lovino and Feliciano Vargas respectively. We call ourselves the Resistance. We rescue poor Abnormals like yourself from G.E.A.R."

"I'm Matthew Williams."

"A pleasure to meet you, Matthew."

"Are you all...?"

"Yes, we are all Abnormals."

"What can you do? I've never met anyone like me before!"

"That's a conversation for later, I'm afraid. We need to get away from this area." Upon seeing Matthew's disappointment, he added, "I will tell you, I promise. Let's just get back to headquarters first."

He whispered to Matthew, "Don't expect much, headquarters is my basement."

Matthew laughed for the first time in a long time.


	5. Chapter Five

**Mission Status: FAILURE**

 _-One month before 113's video-_

 _-Unknown Location, America-_

"You're absolutely sure there are only six?"

"Yes, one hundred percent."

"And the chance of them calling for reinforcements is...?"

"About ninety"

"Good. Great. That's juuust perfect."

"Oh, will you please shut up."

A van was drinking down a small, secluded pathway towards a large barn. The seven men from 469's rescue were watching the van. 469 himself, Matthew Williams, was with them. He looked healthier, his clothes were less ragged.

The van stopped in front of the barn. Two heavily armed security guards got out of the back and led two thin prisoners outside. Another pair of equally armed men hopped out and stood beside them. The driver and passenger got out as well and nodded to their partners before planting their feet firmly on the ground. They didn't move as the other guards took the prisoners towards the barn.

"Mattie, do your thing." Gilbert whispered over his shoulder. He then walked to the side of the bush they were hiding in.

Matthew crept forward, he hoped more than anything right then that his invisibility would not fail him as it had been known to do every now and then. He kept silent as he inched towards the guards.

They didn't see him. He turned to the one on the right and tapped them on their shoulder. The guard screamed.

The prisoners halted. Matthew still couldn't be seen.

"Who's there?" The left guard demanded.

Matthew wasn't an idiot, so he didn't respond.

"Who's there?" He demanded again.

" _Who's there?"_

Suddenly, Matthew found himself staring down the barrels of two separate shotguns.

He was visible.

The guards got into attack position, and the prisoners were surrounded by the others. The guns were fired. Someone was screaming.

"Put your ha-"

They were both punched in the face before that sentence could be finished.

Matthew sighed. "Thank you, Alfred."

"No problem, bro, don't worry about it."

"FALL BACK, FALL BACK!"

Alfred and Matthew looked at each other. This wasn't part of the plan.

"COME ON, TO ME!"

Dogging bullets, they ran to Arthur, who was back in the bushes with the two prisoners. Both were female, neither looked very old. Soon, everyone joined them. Everyone except Gilbert. Bullets flew everywhere.

"They have to be around here. I want men on every side, find them!"

Bullets. Everywhere. Matthew whipped his head around. Where was Gil? He couldn't breathe. Ludwig was yelling next to him. Arthur was telling Ludwig not to go. Go where? Matthew couldn't breathe. He had found Gil.

Gilbert was being restrained by the guards.

Gilbert was unable to get away.

Gilbert was knocked unconscious.

Gilbert was dragged into the barn.

Gone.

"C'mon, we have to get back. Come on, Ludwig, there's nothing we can do now!"

Nono no... No... He couldn't be gone. Ludwig was shooting at the guards. Where had he gotten a gun? Gone. He only vaguely heard the prisoners' names. Michelle. Erzsébet. Subjects 501 and 209.

Gilbert was gone... Matthew was being dragged away. Gone. They had saved two other Abnormals. But they had lost one.

The man who had given him his freedom was gone.

And it was all his fault.


	6. Chapter Six

**At this point everything has been set up and now the real stuff is starting. Also there is kind of an explanation of things in this chapter. Reviews are appreciated, by the way.**

 **As a warming, there is _death_ in this chapter too. **

**The Samurai and the Phoenix.**

"Sir, the subjects have been prepared. Shall we start with the testing?"

"Yes, I want to start immediately."

"Of course, sir."

"... Thank you, Dr."

-Linebreak-

 _-Three weeks after 113's video-_

 _-Nine kilometres from Headquarters-_

 _-Outside a G.E.A.R compound-_

Arthur drove the team to a tall building almost adjacent to the test site. Michelle had scouted ahead using the canal that passed through the area. Erzsébet provided them with armour. Both of them were in a building on the opposite side, ready to act on the signal. Both teams were prepared.

The building they chose was extremely strategic. From the top floor, one could see the entire compound and everything that was happening in it.

Every structure in the compound was grey, not one was painted. There was no movement below, everything was quite and still. It was most likely designed to be as bleak and miserable as possible, to quell any idea of escape. There was a huge tower positioned at each corner, with lights on top of the towers. ' _Vantage_ _points_ ' Arthur thought. ' _Watch towers_ '.

The whole place was depressing, at least from an outside perspective. From what Michelle, Erzsébet, and Matthew had said about it, the inside wasn't any better. They said the walls were white. That their rooms were small, with a rock hard bed in one corner and a short desk with nothing on it tucked in another corner. That there were showers and toilets in a whole other room at the end of the hallway.

"Are you ready, Arthur?"

"Yes, of course. How about you, Feli?"

"I'm prepared! I'm getting better at taking people with me when I teleport, so hopefully Lovi and I will be more useful in the future~"

"You're already extremely useful. Both of you. I doubt anyone could drive like you. You've helped us get away plenty of times."

"Ahh, thank you~" Feli grinned ear to ear. He turned to leave.

"Feli... can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Arthur! What is it?"

"Do you think... do you think Ludwig is ready?"

Feliciano's smile dissipated. "I don't know. He hasn't said anything or shown anything. I just think that... after everything with Gilbert... I think he's trying to act tough."

"I see. Thank you. Can you tell the others to be ready to leave soon? And please make sure Alfred understands the concept of stealth."

"Will do!" He saluted playfully and left.

Arthur opened the window of the top floor. He prepared a miniscule mirror and positioned it towards the window opposite his. Across the compound, Michelle and Erzsébet were waiting. He heard faint calls from the floor below telling him that they were ready.

He moved the mirror forward. It caught the light and flashed.

Flying down the stairs, Arthur met up with the rest of his team on their way out. The fence reached up to at least twenty feet, twice as high as the fence around the last compound they infiltrated. G.E.A.R was getting paranoid.

There was no way they were getting up and over that fence without making a ton of noise. That's why Feliciano and Lovino had been practicing taking people with them when they teleported. One by one, the team was taken from one side of the fence to the other. They were inside the compound.

The towers were the biggest threat, so naturally that had to be dealt with first. Feliciano and Lovino teleported into the guard room in the tower. When they got up there, they both snuck up on the unsuspecting guard and took them out. They did the same to the towers on the other side of the compound and teleported back to the team.

"Michelle and Erzsébet are taking out any security they can find. Michelle said she dealt with the outside cameras on their end." Feliciano reported.

"Then we better catch up!" Alfred said. He then promptly ran up to a camera and punched it.

"He's going to get us all killed..." Lovino muttered.

Everyone sprung into action, destroying anything that could get in their way with some semblance of stealth. If anyone saw them, they could sound an alarm that would make things _much_ more difficult.

Once all the guards and cameras were taken care of, so to speak, the real plan began. The teams met up, Michelle was soaking wet and Erzsébet held a tazer.

"Are you ready?" Arthur asked them.

"Who do you think we are?" Erzsébet answered.

"Then let's go."

They may have dealt with the guards outside, but security on the inside would be much heavier. The plan involved everyone taking the uniforms of the guards and posing as the men who would take captives to the test rooms. If what Michelle said was true, then there were two Abnormals in the compound, both of which should be in there rooms.

When they were all dressed in the heavy, bulky suits worn by the guards, they entered the building in groups of four. They could surround the Abnormal. The doors were inscribed with the G.E.A.R logo, a gear circled by DNA.

Inside, it was exactly how Erzsébet and Michelle described it. White walls, clean floors. The hallway was silent, if you breathed too loudly it would be heard by everyone. Directly in front of them were the captives' rooms.

Not wanting to stand in one spot lest they seem suspicious, they walked up to the doors. There was a window that you could see into the rooms from. All of them were empty.

"There's no one here... you said they were in their rooms." Arthur hissed.

"They were when I last checked." Michelle hissed back.

"Okay okay, calm down. They might be in the bathrooms or something." Alfred intervened.

Arthur nodded, now they had to search. They split into their groups of four, one going towards the test chambers and the other going to the bathrooms.

Alfred was trying not to panic. This place was so soul crushing, and he was just waiting for someone to pop out and rip his mask off. He was with the team that went for the test chambers. Just seeing the empty hospital style beds surrounded by all sorts of needles and bags made him want to puke.

Then he heard the screams. A piercing shriek of pain rang through the whole building. It came from nearby.

His team started opening door after door, but the only thing they found was more surgical equipment and frightening looking devices. When he finally found a room something was happening in, the door was locked. The screams weren't coming from here, but there was definitely an Abnormal in there. Peeking inside, people in long lab coats stood around a boy with black hair who lied on the hospital bed. The doctors were preparing needles.

Alfred backed up, this was a rescue mission, and he intended to rescue the boy. He rammed into the door, and it was thrown off it's hinges. The doctors stared at him. The boy gasped. Alfred jumped at the nearest doctor, knocking her to the floor and grabbing her needle. None of the other doctors were very good at defense, and less than a minute later he and the boy were surrounded by unconscious bodies. Alfred released the needle and stepped back.

"Who. Who are you?" The boy was frantic. Of course he was, Alfred was dressed like a guard.

"My name is Alfred F. Jones, and I'm here to be your hero! And you are...?" He reached out his hand, but it wasn't taken. Instead, the boy bowed.

"I am Honda Kiku. Or... Kiku Honda to you. I am in your favour."

"Kiku, huh? How do you feel about getting out of here?"

"I would like that very much."

The screaming still persisted. Alfred took Kiku out of the testing chamber and ran towards the next door. Then, it was quiet.

The screaming had stopped.

Either someone had found the source or... Alfred preferred not to think of that option.

But his whole team was in the hall, which meant no one had found the Abnormal. Then, as if nothing had happened, the screaming started again.

Kiku dragged him to a door. Sure enough, it was locked. Just as Arthur's group came running around the corner, Alfred burst open another door. The Abnormal inside was being shocked. Not with a small amount of electricity either, lightning was literally flashing off of their body. The electrical shocks stopped when the door caved in.

Kiku must have hated these doctor people, because he took them all out before Alfred could get to one. Alfred loosened the restraints on the poor Abnormal's arms and legs and lifted him up. He had blond hair that ended just above the shoulders. He wasn't breathing. He didn't have a pulse.

Not wanting to leave his body behind, Alfred flung the Abnormal over his shoulders. He was dead for sure.

"What the bloody hell are you doing! Alfred, are they okay?"

"He's dead, Artie."

"...Oh God..."

"We do have to get out of here, you know."

"I... yes, yes, I know. I just..." Arthur took a deep breath. Feliciano turned away. Francis made a retching sound.

They decided to run for the fence. It would look too strange if eight guards came out carrying one captive and leading the other. Loving grabbed Alfred and the dead Abnormal and teleported to the other side, Feliciano took Kiku and Arthur. They went back like this until everyone was outside the compound.

The really didn't have to rush, none of the guards had come to yet. They all met at the tall building that overlooked the compound. Alfred put the Abnormal down on the couch. He was breathing again.

Erzsébet conjured up some medical supplies and Francis started looking for bruises or scratches to bandage up.

Arthur stood above the Abnormal.

"Alfred?"

"Yeah Artie?"

"You said he was dead."

"He is. He wasn't breathing, he had no pulse."

"Yes well... he's very alive now."

There was a loud gulp of air, and the Abnormal shot upward, nearly hitting Arthur in the head. He looked like a deer in headlights. He looked around, still breathing heavily.

"Who are you... where is this?" He asked.

"My name is Arthur Kirkland. This is a building just outside your compound. We are all like you." Arthur said slowly.

"Like me...? What do you mean 'like me'?"

"We are all Abnormals."

"All of you?"

"Yes."

"I have... never seen so many in one place..."

"My I ask your name?"

"Feliks. Feliks Łukasiewicz. Subject 187. What can you all do?!" Feliks became very animated.

"I can chanel ancient spirit's energy and use it for my own will" "cough magic cough" "Alfred here is super strong, Ludwig over there had impenetrable skin, Lovino and Feliciano here can telephoto, Erzsébet can create things from her skin, Michelle has gills and Francis is empathetic. Oh, and Matthew is invisible."

Feliks' eyes shone. "That's like, really super cool!" He suddenly became very self conscious. "I can only resurrect."

"You can die and come back?" Alfred asked.

"Uhh, yeah."

"That's pretty awesome, bro. You're like a phoenix."

"Hah, yeah..." He liked the title. A phoenix.

"And what about you, love?" Arthur turned to Kiku.

"I am Honda Kiku. Kiku Honda to you. Subject 134. I have enhanced reflexes. I would demonstrate but... I do best with a sword."

"Bro, that's also really cool. We're like a superhero team!"

"Alfred please..."

"Its fine, Francy pants."

Francis gasped, "How dare you!"

Everyone laughed, Michelle laughed the hardest. The ridiculousness of it all. They had just infiltrated one of G.E.A.R's sites and freed two of the inmates, one of which had _died_. And here they were, playfully insulting each other.

Just like normal kids.

-Linebreak-

"DAMMIT! HOW DID THEY JUST GET AWAY?"

"Sir, please, they were taken."

"BY WHO?" He took a deep breath. " _Who_ has such power as to infiltrate one of the most heavily guarded organizations and take their subjects? THREE TIMES!"

"They call themselves The Resistance, sir."

"I want them found. They will not get away. Not again."


	7. Chapter Seven

**Fun fact: There's a line/phrase in this chapter that foreshadows to the ending, or at least part of the beginning of the ending. I'm kind of tempted to say that whoever finds it first gets something, because I'm pretty proud of including it in the story.**

 **Find the Resistance!/Bring G.E.A.R down!**

"All units have been mobilized, sir. We are prepared to search the city."

"Search everywhere. Every attic, every basement, every floor. Destroy the building if you have to. I want them gone."

"The units are armed with several pounds of explosives and weapons. They are ready for orders, sir."

-Linebreak-

"This place is kind of shabby, don't you think? Especially for headquarters..."

"Watch it, Feliks, this is my basement. Besides, it's not like we have many options."

"I know that, but, like, the place could use some decorating."

"If you want to decorate the place then be my guest..." Arthur shook his head. Feliks had just gotten back from a G.E.A.R base and he was talking about interior decorating? It was absurd... but at least he was being positive.

It was good to stay positive. Even though Arthur didn't act like it, he thought it was a good rule to live by, or just good advice. That's one of the reasons he stuck by Alfred. Alfred always found ways to make the most of any situation, he made things seem less hopeless.

The group was growing, albeit growing slowly. The two new members would definitely be helpful down the line, whenever and wherever their next hit was.

Feliks was assessing the room with a hint of distaste. He was easy enough to read, Arthur could tell what he thought most of the time. Kiku was different. Eighty percent of the time, he was unreadable. Said boy was just gazing at the furthest wall, specifically at a network of cracks in the plaster. He looked at Arthur, but Arthur shook his head back.

It was best not telling that story. It would only scare away the new recruits.

Luckily, Kiku didn't pry. He just nodded and turned the Alfred, who was currently yapping in Kiku's ear. Did that boy ever shut up?

Arthur grabbed his laptop and turned it on. He had made a list of all the Abnormals still in any of G.E.A.R's compounds, which he was knew would be useful to help keep track of who they had saved. He drew a line through 'Kiku Honda' and 'Feliks Łukasiewicz'. He pulled up the G.E.A.R database.

There was a quiet 'boom' from outside.

Thinking nothing of it, Arthur continued searching through files. Kiku jumped, Michelle looked around widely.

There was another 'boom'. This one sounded louder. Closer.

This time, there was a ripple of fear. What was happening?

'Boom', louder, closer.

'Boom boom boom', they were almost on top of headquarters now.

The whole building shook, and it dawned on them.

"Bombs..." Ludwig whispered, he sounded horrified. "They're bombing buildings, they are trying to find us!"

Arthur didn't move, "Erzsébet, Michelle, I want you two to lead everyone out. There's a door in the corner if you move the wardrobe, it leads out to the back, you should be able to hide in the forest for now. Go!"

No one moved. Alfred stepped toward Arthur, "C'mon Artie, you're coming too. I'm not leaving without you."

Ludwig agreed, "We won't leave anyone behind."

Francis put a hand on Arthur's shoulder. Arthur shook it off.

Arthur sighed. The building shook again. "I promise, I'll catch up to you. Now go!"

They kicked into gear, Alfred moved the wardrobe with ease just as the staircase to the basement collapsed. They ran down the secret hallway, Alfred stopping to put the wardrobe back. 'Boom'

Arthur could hear the building falling in on itself, but he didn't move. He couldn't, not when he was so close. He couldn't bring the laptop with him, it could be traced. That's probably why they found the headquarters so quickly. They weren't bombing blindly. 'Boom'

The wall around the door cracked, the crack spread to the ceiling. If he didn't move soon, he would be crushed. A shelf near the door fell down, shattering the picture frames that it held. Arthur took out his phone, and took a panorama of the basement, then a shot of the cracks Kiku looked at. They would help him rebuild, and maybe help him tell the story. He hoped they found somewhere like this. Maybe even someplace better.

Finally, just as the door fell in, he messaged himself any important files, so that he could still access them. He heard shouts from upstairs. Fortunately, the lack of stairs would halt their approach. Unfortunately, the crack in the ceiling was getting bigger and bigger, spreading to every corner of the room. This basement was unstable.

He closed the tabs on his computer, and started a factory reset. Before it could restart, he threw it against the wall and doused it in oil. Had he had more time, he would have found a more effective way of getting his finger prints off the device. As it was, G.E.A.R would still be able to take his finger prints, but it would take them sometime to get the oil off. They couldn't get the laptop on anymore, considering the screen was cracked and the whole thing smashed. Even if they were able to turn it on, there was nothing on it anymore. Nothing that could be seen easily, at least.

He needed to stall them as much as he could. Of course, if they took enough time and put enough hard work into it, they would be able to view everything Arthur had ever accessed on that laptop. But stalling was the most he could do.

He ran to the secret hallway and pushed the wardrobe out of the way. Once in, he pulled the wardrobe back into place and drew a hammer from his jacket. He knew asking Erzsébet to make a hammer for him was a good idea. Arthur smashed the entrance to the hallway to pieces. Any minute now; any slight tremor would collapse that entrance. G.E.A.R wouldn't be able to follow him.

He ran for the exit as fast as he could. He heard the boom, he felt the shaking, he heard the foundation of the hallway fail. He was just about to the exit when the whole thing gave, a huge chunk of solid concrete fell behind him, clouding the tunnel in dust. He could make out the door at the end, and burst through it.

He still ran, his home had been reduced to rubble. He ran into the forest and met up with the rest of his group. Alfred was hugging him, but Arthur was breathing heavily.

"-worried 'bout you. Don't ever do that 'gain." Alfred said, burying his face in Arthur's shoulder. "I don't want to loose m' teammate."

Francis looked at Arthur worriedly, "You were gone longer than we though you would be. We were all worried about you."

"I'm glad you're safe, Arthur~" Feliciano said.

"Yeah, it would be a shame if you died." Lovino agreed.

"While I am glad you're okay, our headquarters was destroyed... where are we going to go?" Michelle asked.

"I don't know." Arthur said.

"... Won't they be able to find us?" Kiku was staring at the building, he was definitely concerned.

"I took many precautions. They should be stalled."

Kiku nodded, "Okay... okay..."

Erzsébet gently patted his shoulder. Kiku let her.

"There has to be a place where like, people like us can stay for a while. Somewhere safe." Feliks said.

Lovino cleared his throat, "... There might be." He looked at Feliciano, "Our grandfather was an Abnormal. He bought a bunch of land and had a huge mansion built. He told us that it was for people like him, people like us. I think we can... er..."

Feliciano took over, "He's right! Grandfather said it was a pretty safe place! We could use it, it isn't too far!"

"Then what are we waiting for!" Feliks said as he grabbed Michelle's hand and attempted to drag her away. Michelle was too strong for him, though, because she didn't move.

Ludwig gazed at the ruins and rubble that used to be their headquarters. Finally, he spoke up," I think we should at least check it out. But we will have to be careful, G.E.A.R is most likely still looking for us."

-Linebreak-

"We found their base of operations, sir, but we didn't find them."

"... Where could they have gone?"

"We don't know, sir, but we suspect they may have fled to the woods. There is a chance... I mean, they may be on the other side of the country by now. They could be anywhere."

The Director put his head in his hands and groaned.

"Tell me something good, Dr."

"Security has gone up by three hundred percent since the break in."

"Good... promise me they won't get away next time."

"They won't get away again, sir!" Dr. DiVaulderbilt saluted and strode off.

He grumbled under his breath, "I hope there won't ever be a next time..."


	8. Chapter Eight

**Uhhh so yeah, hi. I know I haven't updated in a while, long story short I haven't had a ton of motivation lately. I've had this chapter written for a long while, but recently I finished writing the next chapter and I remembered to post this.**

 **Time for some responses, sorry if somethings wrong in on mobile right now.**

 **Someone asked about Romania and Bulgaria (and possibly Moldova, I don't remember and, like I said, I'm on mobile) I have plans for them! Bulgaria not so much because I know diddly squat about him and his character, and Moldova might not come in till later but Romania I have plans for! and you may see him sooner than you think ;)**

 **Someone told me I should start using semicolons, and you're absolutely right! I was never taught how to use them properly but I'm trying, not in this chapter bc this was written a wile ago but next chapter; hopefully it's better.**

 **Someone gave a huge list of powers, thank you so much! I might use some I haven't really looked at this story in a while but I very much appreciate it, you're a savior.**

 **Someone said something bout a traumatized Abnormal who chooses not to talk, I have something planned like that but I might use you're advice at some point.**

 **[Edit: upon looking I learned that these are all from the same person! In that case, thank you so much for reviewing, it actually makes my feel like I'm doing at least _something_ right] **

**Also no one guessed my foreshadowing thing, you thought it'd be that obvious ;) no but in all honesty I'd never hurt a character ;))**

 **MoNsTeRs**

 _-Unknown location, America-_

A girl sat crouched in the corner of a dark room. She couldn't see anything in front of her, but she could hear them. Her friends had come back.

"Natalya, please. They aren't going to stop until you do."

The girl looked upwards to the ghostly figure of a young boy, no more than nine. He was covered in blood and he was missing an arm. The poor boy, he had been killed by these monsters.

"I will not stop giving them hell. I want my family back."

"They aren't going to give them back, you know this. That isn't how they work."

"I don't care," She looked back down as though that was final.

The boy gave up, he floated toward Natalya and hovered above her.

"Go away."

"Natalya, please..."

" _No_. I am going to make them _pay_." The room started shaking. The boy's form flickered.

"Nat-"

" _They are going to regret ever touching my family!"_ The boy disappeared, but the room didn't stop shaking. Natalya's hair flew around her, her eyes became white.

" ** _They are going to pay! THEY ARE GOING TO PAY!_** " She was screaming as loud as she could. The lights in the hallway burst, the door was thrown off its hinges.

Natalya stepped out of the room, her feet not quite touching the floor. The halls were filled with ghosts and demons, each one disappearing the minute they saw her. Even the dead were scared of her.

"'YOU ARE ALL GOING TO PAY!'"

Sirens blared, bathing the hallways in red light. Scientists, no, _monsters_ ran to her only to find themselves thrown into the wall as though they weighed nothing. They didn't move, but their ghosts vanished too. They wanted to be far away from her. She noted the blood.

'These monsters are going to pay for what they've done.'

-Linebreak-

Lights were flashing, people were screaming, and not one of the hundreds of cameras worked. They displayed nothing but static, only occasionally would they switch and show a pale girl floating above the ground.

She was getting closer to the head office.

Lisa DiVaulderbilt was terrified, she knew what 113 could do. The Director was long gone, he had fled the minute the sirens went off, but he had left Lisa to deal with the subject. Then, all the lights shut down.

Everything was pitch black, and the sirens had stopped. Lisa did not want to deal with the subject, she would rather pet a rabid dog. Grabbing a flashlight and turning it on, she stood and walked toward the door.

'Thud'

Lisa jumped. What was that? The window on the door shook, and as Lisa turned the flashlight onto the window she saw blood. A handprint made of blood was painted onto the window. She screamed, where did the blood come from? There was no one in the hall, and on further inspection the whole place seemed deserted.

Luckily, this was merely a compound for trouble subjects, there were no other subjects for miles. In fact, for better or for worse the doors leading outside were completely locked and the building was surrounded by more security than anywhere else in the compound. 113 would be shot down before going anywhere.

Unfortunately, that meant Lisa was trapped inside with a demon.

113 had to be somewhere, and she had to be somewhere that there was control of the power. There was one room that held the power sources, but it was usually bolted shut. Lisa could do one of two things, she could wait for security to arrive and help, or she could try and calm the subject down. She decided to wait it out, and checked the lock on the door.

It was broken.

She wasn't safe in this room, at any moment the subject could come in. There went that plan.

Lisa stepped out of the room, ignoring the horrible smell of blood, and shuffled down the hallway to the big doors that led outside. Turning her flashlight to the walls, she saw that the handprint wasn't the only painting made with blood. The walls were covered in it, and there was writing that said things like "YOU WILL PAY", "MONSTERS" and "THEY SAY HELLO" and possibly the most terrifying and ambiguous, "THE HALLS ARE ALIVE".

The subject was obviously unstable, and it was now clear to Lisa that any wrong move could make the situation worse.

The big doors were locked. Of course they were, they always were. Lisa slowly moved down the hall, with her back facing the wall at all times. She could hear the subject singing, it sounded like a lullaby in a language that sounded like Russian. _No,_ Lisa thought, _Belorussian. The subject was from Belarus_. The melody was chilling.

Every now and then there was a tap on one of her shoulders. The hand that tapped her was frigid and bony. She moved slowly, steadily for what she guessed was about a half hour and finally made it to the room 113 was supposed to be held in. The door was bent inward and off the hinges, and the room had scratch marks all around it. Someone grabbed her shoulders.

" **HeLlO mOnStEr**." The voice was deep and broken, but it was so clearly 113. The accent was there to prove it.

"Hello, subject 113."

" **YoU aRe In My WaY**."

Lisa tried not to scream or cry, she tried to keep her voice level so as to not show this demon any fear.

"How so?"

" **YoU wIlL nOt LeT mE sEe My FaMiLy**."

"No subject is allowed to see anyone unless they are permitted."

" **I wAnT tO sEe My FaMiLy**."

"You are not allowed to."

" **I wAnT yOu To AnSwEr A qUeStIoN fOr Me**."

"A-and what would that be?"

" **YoUr AnSwEr DiCtAtEs YoUr SaFeTy**."

"I... I see."

" **YoU sHoUlD aNsWeR hOnEsTlY**."

"I will."

" **DiD yOu HuRt ThEm?** "

"No. We tested on them, punished them when needed, but I wouldn't say we hurt them." The grip on her shoulder tightened.

" **YoU mOnStEr. YoU _hUrT_ tHeM**."

"I-I would... I would not say that."

" **YoU wIlL _pAy_!**"

The nails dug into her shoulders, puncturing her skin. She felt the warmth of blood before she could not feel or think any more. 113 started singing again.

'You monsters will all pay in due time~'


	9. Chapter Nine

**I have a few things I want to say before starting this chapter.**

 **I don't have an update schedule, but I have an update plan. I'll post a new chapter when I finish writing the next one (Ex: posting this chapter when chapter 10 is done).**

 **Along with that; my love for this story has kind of returned. I know it didn't seem like that long a time between chapters 7 and 8, or 8 and 9, but it's been months since I've written anything for anything. I'm not going to make any promises, but updates might be more often that I would have thought... no promises.**

 **Also, thanks to Venandi for constantly reviewing; it actually helps me love this story more. Bad grammar annoys me too, even though I'm the leat grammatically correct when it comes to writing (probably because I write like I would talk, and that doesn't help). Believe it or not I forgot that there were resources to help with writing characters, oops.**

 **I've been told that Vladimir isn't a Romanian name, I'm sorry! I just poked up common fan given names names so I've changed it to Vlad for the time being. I might change it to something more Romanian later on (ie looking up 'top ten male Romanian first names and picking from that (I quite like the name Andrei))**

 **Anyway I'll stop rambling.**

 **Run away and hide.**

At this point, Arthur was concerned.

G. E. A. R was not giving up, trailing the Resistance everywhere they went. Arthur knew everyone was tired; they were all running on fumes. The group could only stay in one place for so long-about two days or so- before armed guards arrived and started to search the area. With barely enough time to eat, sleep, shop, or charge their phones, G. E. A. R had a very good chance of catching up with the fatigued Abnormals.

Another main reason for Arthur's concern was the alarming increase in security around G. E. A. R controlled areas. When the group passed a small compound the other day they saw not the usual five, but around twenty guards patrolling the perimeter. In their current state the Resistance could not even hope to infiltrate it. Arthur knew that this increase was largely due to the recent breakout of the very girl that started their little... 'adventure'.

Natalya Arlovskya had broken out of a solidary compound, slaughtered the guards, and ran off not the be seen again.

Honestly the only reason Arthur knew about this breakout was because of his phone. The incident had caused news articles to pop up about how how Natalya was dangerous and how there was 'no need to worry; no other subjects escaped'. There was even a reward posted for anyone who brought her in, 'preferably alive'. Arthur hoped it would be a while before people acted on their greed, but that relied on them treating Abnormals as human beings, which was sadly not the case.

If G. E. A. R wasn't already paranoid before all of this, they were now. No matter where they went, no less than fifteen armed guards with loaded guns followed. Perhaps G. E. A. R thought that the Resistance was behind Natalya's breakout?

They weren't, of course, but they did get the delight of feeling the aftereffects.

Arthur and Co. (don't tell anyone he called them that) had been walking for about a week and a half. No car was large enough to carry them all, and whatever money they had left was used on food and bus tickets. Lovino and Feliciano swore they were getting closer.

Motels were a blessing, Arthur decided. For the most part, the owners didn't ask questions, like why eleven young adults (although Alfred counted as a child in Arthur's mind) came and left without so much as a word as soon as police like people got close.

Though, in the middle of New York state lived Alfred's parents. Both of which were incredibly adamant about having their son and his friends stay for a little while. While Lovino told them that the group couldn't stay, Mr. and Mrs. Jones insisted on having them stay the afternoon at least.

"Do any of you want drinks? Water or a coke or something?" asked Mrs. Jones.

"Uhhh," Alfred looked around the coffee table, which the Abnormals and Mr. Jones were currently sat around on various couches. He then answered, "a coke and like... eleven waters, please ma?"

"Alright Alfie," Mrs. Jones said before walking into the kitchen and out of view.

'Now begins the awkward silence' Arthur thought. He had met Alfred's parents before under much more agreeable circumstances. Mrs. Jones was a nice, tall southern woman who looked too much like her son. Mr. Jones was a sturdy Native American who shared Alfred's joy and enthusiasm. They were good people, especially for the parents of an Abnormal.

A good family life and/or childhood was almost unheard of for Abnormals.

But despite everything, Alfred's parents were supportive and kind, even when Alfred stormed back into their house after two years of little to no contact with ten other people, most of whom were strangers. In fact, Alfred was smothered with hugs and kisses the minute he had announced his return.

Mr. Jones was sat opposite Arthur and next to Alfred, and when Mrs. Jones returned and put the drinks down on the table she took her place on Alfred's other side. She kissed her son on the cheek and whispered.

"It's been too long Alfie..."

Mr. Jones, leaned forward and smiled, "So. What brings you to this part of New York?"

Clearing his throat, Arthur said, "I- I don't really know how to explain this. A lot has happened-"

Mr. Jones laughed, "I have time."

"... Very well," Arthur started again, "We are on the run. There is an organization, presumably you've heard of them, called Department G. E. A. R, or more commonly G. E. A. R."

"The Department of Genetic Experimentation and Analytical Research," Mr. Jones filled in.

Arthur nodded, "They destroyed our previous... home." He couldn't say headquarters. It would bring up a whole other conversation he wasn't ready to have, "We are trying to find a new place to stay."

"And how long have you been on the run?" Mrs. Jones interrupted. Arthur could see the concerned look on her face.

Lovino butted in, "About a week or so."

Arthur gave Lovino an offended look. "I was talking!"

"You were taking too long," Lovino said matter-of-factly.

"And where is this place you're heading?" Mrs. Jones asked. Arthur noted her hand that held tightly onto Alfred's; as though she didn't want to let go.

"It's about as close to the ocean a mansion can get. The Atlantic Ocean, I mean. I'll know it when I see it." Lovino answered, ignoring Feliciano's pleas to be nicer.

"You've got some way to go," Mr. Jones said bluntly.

"Are you all walking?" asked his wife.

"When we can we get buses, but yes. For the most part we walk."

"Why don't you take a plane? It's probably faster..." Asked Mr. Jones.

Lovino nodded to Francis, who answered, "It's far too expensive. Even if we managed to scrap up enough money, many of the airports systems are easily accessible by G. E. A. R. They would be able to see where we were landing and meet us on the ground."

Mr. Jones nodded, "I'd lend you money but I'm afraid we don't have that much."

"I don't want your money. We need to get to our new home as soon as possible. I don't suppose you have a spare bus we can borrow?" asked Lovino.

"Unfortunately not."

Lovino scoffed sarcastically, "Of course not."

Mrs. Jones cut in, "why don't we talk about something more... pleasant. I'm sure you could all use a break from all this grim stuff."

Alfred chose to pipe up, "Yeah, let's just talk for a bit, I'm sure we can discuss this later!"

Everyone agreed; they were looking for a way to lighten the mood of the whole group. Some light hearted chatter was sure to do just that.

-Linebreak-

Four hours and several glassed of water (and a coke) later, there was a nock on the door, stopping Mr. Jones in the middle of his joke.

From behind the front door, someone could be heard yelling, "G. E. A. R security, please open the door!"

Arthur panicked, rapidly turning around to find someplace to hide. Luckily, Mr. Jones was slightly more quick to respond. He yelled, "Just a minute!" back to the person out front and then told everyone, save Mrs. Jones, to get to the garage and lock the door. Once they were all hidden, Arthur tried to listen through the door to the front. He heard a quick splash of water before the door opened.

"What took you so long?" Arthur didn't recognize the voice, but Erzsébet seemed to. Her face went more pale than Arthur had ever seen from her before, and she kept mouthing 'it isn't him' over and over to herself.

"I had just gotten out of the shower, I wasn't yet dressed." said Mr. Jones.

"Could no one else open the door? Not a family member?"

"It's just my wife and I, she's a rather heavy sleeper and I doubt she wanted to answer the door in her pajamas."

"..."

"Is everything alright, sir? Can I help you at all, surely there's a reason you're here?"

"Yeah, you can. I'm looking for eleven Abnormals that we've tracked into New York. We know you're the parent of one of these Abnormals?"

"I am. Though, you can imagine that I've cut all contact with my son the moment I found out of his... abilities."

"Mhm, so you don't know where they are?"

"No, sir. I haven't seen him in a long while. About ten years to be exact."

"So you won't mind us coming in and performing a routine check?"

"Uh, no sir. Go right ahead."

The man must have come inside with a few other guards, because their footsteps were loud and clunky. One man went off towards the stairs judging by how their footsteps trailed off. One stopped in the main room, and another went into the kitchen.

"You said this is routine, sir?"

"Yes... we've been looking all over for these... Abnormals. They've caused enough trouble."

"I take it they've caused trouble for you, specifically?"

"... I'm just trying to get paid. I've got a little brother to take care of, and since these Abnormals became my boss' main concern he's docked our pay until we find them."

"A little brother you say?"

"Yes. It's none of you're concern, I'm sure you've met people with younger siblings before."

"Ye-"

"Sir, I've found the wife!"

"Bring her down." Two moments later the stairs started creaking.

"We've checked all around, sir, but we can't find anything."

"Does that door lead to a garage?"

"Yes, sir." Said Mr. Jones.

"Check in there."

Footsteps drew closer to the garage door and Arthur scurried behind a work bench, hiding under it. The door was thrown open and light poured into the room, luckily many of them were under things, shielding them from the view of those in the doorway. Someone turned on the lights and kept walking, right into the middle of the garage.

It was a man with strawberry blond hair poking out of his helmet, otherwise his face was covered, as was the rest of his body. Arthur could see Erzsébet mouth 'it is'. The man turned around and declared,

"I know you're in here. So come out know before I'm forced to do something I don't want to. We have your parents."

For a moment, everyone was still and silent. Then one of the guards shot their gun, and Mr. Jones screamed. Alfred burst from his spot on the other side of the lone vehicle in the garage into the man's sight. One by one the rest of the Abnormals followed. Arthur quickly saw that only Mr. Jones' foot was shot; he immediately felt guilty for bringing Alfred's parents into this mess.

"Round them up, " The man ordered. The guards let go of Mr. and Mrs. Jones stepped forward and grabbed the nearest Abnormal. Their hands were cuffed being their backs. The man seemed focused on Erzsébet, and she quickly spit on the ground in front of his feet.

"I hope you're fired... worse... I hope you you're brother knows what you're doing... he wouldn't love you so much then!" She said. The man ignored her.

They were lugged out of Alfred's parent's house and into the big black vans that belonged to G. E. A. R.

"What was all that about?" Arthur asked Erzsébet quietly.

"... He's a douche." She wouldn't look at him.

"You seemed to know him, " he prodded.

"..."

"Okay," he sighed.

Erzsébet looked Arthur dead in the eyes.

"His name is Vlad Popescu, and he's the one who captured me."


	10. Chapter Ten

**So I'm gonna formally apologize for the delay on this chapter. I'm also gonna say that my upload schedule was garbage and I'm just going to post chapters when their finished. A couple notes before the chapter:**

 **Firstly, I haven't decided on what name I'm going to use for Romania, though in do like Andrei, so until then he's going to be Vlad.**

 **Secondly, I personally don't think this chapter is the best. It's _something_ at least, and it gets me closer to where I want this story to go (finally). **

**Resistance, meet the Resistance**

They were in the vans for quite some time. Arthur would've counted the minutes if it wouldn't make him go crazy. Unfortunately, Francis had been put in the same van as him. Erzsébet, Matthew, and Kiku were all with him too.

Arthur didn't want to be the leader most of the time, but someone had to be. That came with its own set of problems, since the rest of the Resistance looked to him for plans and guidance.

For the first time in his life, Arthur didn't have a plan.

He couldn't find a way out of their little predicament without someone getting killed; there was just no possible way. Alfred was sure to be subdued, lest his parents get any more hurt. Even if one of them managed to run... the guards had guns. The Vargas Brothers could attempt to teleport away, but Feliciano was likely too frantic to focus and Lovino would never leave his brother behind.

Francis was being awfully quiet. Arthur expected the frog to start blaming things on him as soon as possible but instead Francis had his head against the wall separating the drivers from the prisoners.

Then, the vans came to an abrupt stop, lurching nearly everyone forward. Kiku seemed to be the only one not thrown off balance.

The driver swore and slammed the door. "They can't have gone too far, search the area."

"They?" Matthew muttered, looking at Arthur. The best Arthur could do was shrug. After all, he didn't know who 'they' were or what they were doing.

"We need to stay on schedule, we're supposed to be back soon. Get back in the car but keep your eyes peeled." said Popescu.

With a "yes, sir" the driver got back in their seat and the van started moving again, leaving the confused Abnormals with a long list of questions.

They couldn't see out of the van-the only window being blocked by bars and covered from the outside- so there was no way of seeing what had happened. Arthur only had sound to go off.

The van didn't crash, but it did stop. This left Arthur to believe that something or someone stopped the van; most likely something was in the way.

"They must have gone pretty far," said Kiku.

Arthur was caught off guard, "What do you mean?"

"The driver said they couldn't of gone far, but they weren't found."

"Oh," Arthur said. He didn't take Kiku for the joking type.

Francis still hadn't said anything, though he did give Arthur a nasty look when said Brit laughed after Francis was thrown into the wall his head was pressed against. Erzsébet hadn't said anything either, at least not since she revealed that Popescu was the man who caught her. Matthew must have been panicking silently, because his form kept flickering in and out of sight. Sometimes his invisibility became unstable. Matthew's panicking was justified; he had seen first hand how cruel G. E. A. R could be. It was G. E. A. R's fault his... power tended to malfunction.

Out of all the Resistance, Matthew had every reason to be cold or cruel, just as his captors were. Instead the boy chose to be kind, helping people from the shadows. He was also the second Resistance member that had opened up about their past. Alfred was the first, but his childhood really hadn't been all that interesting.

"Enough of that," said Matthew.

Arthur shook his head, "What?"

"You had that look on your face. Like you were... reminiscing or something. We have more pressing matters."

"I... yes, I suppose we do. I hate to say it, but I don't know what to do." He really did hate to say it; people counted on him and he felt as though he was letting them down.

Kiku was staring at the empty space between Francis and Arthur in deep thought.

The driver swore again, and the van swerved violently. Again everyone, except Kiku of course, was thrown into each other, Francis being squashed between Arthur and the wall (Arthur hated touching the frog but it was quite funny).

Having nothing in the way of sight to go off, Arthur assumed the person or people who had stopped the van had returned. The van swerved twice more.

"Vladimir really wants to be on time..." Erzsébet mumbled.

"On time for what?" Francis asked.

Kiku, Matthew, and Erzsébet gave each other sour looks, then said in unison, "Initiation."

Francis told them to stop being creepy.

"Everyone G. E. A. R takes has to go through what they call 'initiation'," Matthew elaborated, "it's basically just the first test and it's different for everyone. You get a power dampening ankle cuff that looks like a house arrest anklet and they give you some ragged clothes to wear. Then they take you to a hospital looking room and begin the testing."

"And when that's done you get your very own room." Erzsébet said bitterly, doing jazz hands. Kiku nodded.

The van slowed to a stop and Arthur picked up voices from behind it.

"That takes care of that. Are you sure this is worth it?" asked one of them.

"They will prove useful with time," answered another, "we will need them if we are going to get your brothers back." Arthur noted the accents both voices had.

The van doors were opened. Arthur had to squint at the sudden influx of light, but he saw a blond man with black glasses. Behind the man was five other men all ranging in ages from 17 to 25. The youngest had platinum blog hair that was almost grey. Next the him was another platinum blond, who was followed by another... were they all blond? They were, with the expecting of a large green... thing next to one of them that seemed somewhat ethereal. The man next to the green Troll looking thing spoke.

"It would be best if you stopped gawking. We need you to come with us."

Erzsébet hopped out first, then Kiku, then Matthew and Francis. Arthur was sceptical; he didn't know these people or their intentions, how could he trust them? At least, that was what he thought until he saw the look on everyone's faces.

They were defeated. No one wanted to run anymore, the threat of returning to the compounds that held so many of the group captive loomed over them all. Going with these strangers was their best option.

They had never found the mansion Lovino and Feliciano's grandfather left them; they had no where to go.

"Who are you? Where do you want us to go?" Arthur asked. It was something they all wanted to know, but no one risked asking in case it would jeopardize their chance.

The man who answered-the one who had told them to go with him-had a permanent glaze over his violet eyes, as though he was looking elsewhere. The troll-like monster stood next to him like a bodyguard. "It's best if we get going. If we stand around for too long we would most certainly be captured or killed. Please call me L."

L decided that was the last he wanted to talk and started walking past the vans and off the road. Having nothing better to do, Arthur and the gang followed.

The Resistance members pestered the strangers with various questions, like "who are you?" or "why did you help us?" to no avail. As soon as he could, L turned and started a trek though the woods just as his monstrous bodyguard disappeared. None of the strangers found this the least bit concerning or weird.

Eventually they made it to a collapsed entryway to an abandoned subway station. L and his friends moved the rubble aside and opened the entrance up before doing down the staircase. 'No offense' Arthur thought, 'but an abandoned subway isn't my idea of a good place to stay'.

His thoughts were quickly dashed when they got to the bottem of the stairs. The station wasn't creepy at all, but rather warm and inviting. In one corner was a makeshift kitchen, in another was a bunch of beds, and in a small room off to the the side were the bathrooms. L sat on one of the beds and gestured for everyone else to do so too.

"You want answers, yes?" asked L, "Go ahead."

"Who are you?" at least five people asked at once.

"My name is Lukas. This is Magnus," he pointed to a tall blond with spiky hair, "Emil," the grey blond, "Berwald," who really just looked like Ludwig with glasses, "Tino," a short, young looking man with an oddly excited look in his eyes, "and Eduard," another blond with glasses, although this time with less muscles, "next question."

"Why did you call yourself L?" asked Michelle.

"... Let me tell you why you were captured. You use your names freely. Every motel, every mission, every phone contact. G. E. A. R knows your full names; they can trace you. They know who your family is and they can use that against you. That's why we don't use our names. "

"You use letters," Michelle filled in.

Lukas nodded, "It's easier."

"What is this place?" Feliks asked next.

"We call it the Abnormal Underground. It's the first place we settled after... it doesn't matter. It's safe, off of G. E. A. R's radar."

"Why did you help us?" asked Ludwig.

"You are a necessary component. We have people inside the compounds that we would like to get out, and that is what you deal in. It would be best if we worked together. They would only go wrong if we let you go."

"You sound so certain about that." Lovino said sceptically.

"I am certain."

Lovino was clearly unsatisfied with that answer, but didn't press any more. Alfred took out his phone and stood up, mumbling about needing to call someone. No one stopped him from going into an isolated corner.

"What can you all do?" asked Kiku, pulling out a pen and a piece of crumpled paper. After meeting the Resistance he had started writing down an extensive list of Abnormalities and what they could do on that paper; he was rather fascinated by it.

Magnus took over this time, "Well, do you want the long explanation or the short one?"

"Long, please."

"Alright, I can heat up my body to set things on fire. Berwald here can absorb shocks, Tino's got some kind of persuasion thing going on, Emil can do some crazy things with geothermal Heat, Eduard can... I don't know, project things technologically, and Lukas here can see possible futures. And conjure monsters... That wasn't all that long actually."

"Wait... you have two powers?" Kiku asked Lukas.

"Yes." Lukas sighed.

"How is that...?"

"A mutation upon a mutation. Rare- very rare- but not impossible. Something happened with my genes, I guess they didn't form correctly."

"That's..." Kiku breathed, writing furiously.

"Anyway," said Tino, "why don't we get you all settled-"

"You're looking for your brothers." Arthur remembered, pointing to Eduard.

"Oh! Yes, I am." Eduard said, caught off guard.

"And you think we're able to help?"

"Lukas already said that things would be disastrous if you don't." Eduard pushed his glasses higher up his nose.

"Where are they? What are their names?"

"Ravis and Tolys. But first, Tino's right, why don't we get you settled."


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Alright so here's the next chapter I said I'd post. Uhh this chapter was originally something entirely different, but it was too hard to write so now it's this. This chapter is kind of different. I actually really like the way this turned out, and it was incredibly refreshing to write.**

 **Oh yeah, I wanted to say that thank you, Venandi, so so much for your suggestions. I know for a fact that some of them will be used but also you've reminded me of great characters who I now have a place for in this Au. Thank you so much.**

 **The other side**

If there was one thing the Head Director of the G. E. A. R Departments knew, it was that they were behind schedule.

The recent... incidents regarding the escape of certain subjects were pushing an already delayed project farther back. He had a headache just thinking about how complicated things became all of a sudden.

Putting his head in his hands he turned his chair so that his back faced his desk; a big, full wall mirror was now directly in front of him. Peering into said mirror, he took his reflection in.

His crisp white uniform was covered by a crisp white lab coat, as it always was. The left breast pocket was filled with tissues and a blue ball point pen, and the name tag under the pocket read 'G. E. A. R. D Head Director Justin Marne'. His blond hair was short and tousled and his blue eyes shone in the light. Everything about him was pale in color, down to his far too pale skin. Perhaps that was why the bags under his eyes seemed so dark.

Those bags were the result of many sleepless nights chasing this so-called 'Resistance'. None of his men had managed to find anything that would help with their capture, and people always 'did' say that if you wanted something right you had to do it yourself. But even Justin wasn't able to find anything. Yet.

They hid themselves well, Justin thought.

Then, a trail arose; a phone signal that he was able to hack into and trace. The head members of the Resistance weren't even smart enough to use code names or anything of the sort. This Alfred F. Jones character threw around his teammates names like there was no problem with it.

Of course, Justin didn't have a problem with this. It gave him names, which gave him family and friends and locations.

And finally, the Resistance was in his grasp, they were caught... and then they were gone.

And Justin didn't have a clue why.

So the very people that had cause so much trouble for him were still free, still able to cause more trouble. And more trouble would delay his project even more.

The door to his right burst open, and a young scientist in all white clothes- similar to those Justin himself wore- stood in the doorway.

"Sir," the scientist said, "subject 335 is responding negatively to the sedatives we have him on. What action would you recommend?"

Justin considered this question for a moment or two. Subject 335 was a... special one. He had entered the experiments willingly, on the condition that his sister remain unharmed. She didn't know the extent of that agreement, nor was she ever taken in for testing. She was taken in as a nurse, however she was forbidden from working on 335. Justin had made sure to honor the agreement as long as 335 stayed a part of the tests.

"... You have permission to use force if needed. Use a stronger sedative, one strong enough to render him unconscious... bring him to test room 1-G later, while he is still asleep. I wish to start a new batch of tests on him."

The scientist stood straighter, as though the answer was in any was reassuring. "Yes, sir. Will you be present for the experiments, sir?"

"Yes. You are, under no circumstances, to start without me."

"Yes, sir." And with that, the doorway was empty, and the door promptly shut with a quiet slam.

In truth Justin had no reason to be present during 335's new tests; the chief scientists knew exactly what to do and how to do it. Justin knew that some part of him was just 'curious' about the Abnormals and how they reacted to the chemicals and tools used during experiments. He wanted to add to the research they already had.

He didn't have anywhere to be for the next 3 hours or so. 335 wouldn't be responsive in the slightest for quite some time, and there was no pressing paper work needed since he'd finished it all earlier. Having nothing to do, he decided on going for a walk.

'Hopefully it would clear his headache' he thought.

He was wrong.

Halfway through his walk around the D block, reserved for some of the oldest, high security subjects, he was interrupted. The D block always made him a little uneasy as most of the Abnormals that were kept there were extremely powerful and isolated. Who knows what they were capable of?

And that's when he ran straight into Vlad Popescu.

Justin liked to think that he didn't hate any of his employees, but Vlad pushed every one of his buttons the exact wrong way. The young boy was optimistic, cheery, peppy, and energetic, which would be great qualities if you didn't consider the line of work the boy chose to pursue. Soldiers were supposed to be stone cold and fierce, which was almost the opposite of Vlad. The Romanian was almost friendly.

Of course, the boy was also and Abnormal, which made it hard to trust him.

Vlad had joined their ranks a year or so back, and quickly made and example soldier. Along with jumping up the ranks, he jumped into to hearts of many other soldiers with that personality of his. Unfortunately, he wasn't great at keeping secrets. Justin called him in one day to promote him, and the moment Vlad sat down he started blabbering about how his Abnormality could be used to 'help' G. E. A. R. and how it didn't make him any less of a soldier. Before Justin knew it, he had knowledge of Vald's whole life.

Justin had extended an invitation to Popescu. He would allow the boy and his family to stay in G. E. A. R protection until further notice as long as Vlad never told any one else, and as long as he didn't show any hesitation when it came to bringing other Abnormals into their compounds.

Needless to say, the boy agreed.

"Oh, Mr. Director, fancy seeing you here!" Vlad's heavy accent snapped Justin back to reality. He wore heavy combat armor, as every other soldier did, but his was accented with a green tint, showing his rank of Commander.

The Director just hummed in response.

"Where are you going? You're not supposed to leave without supervision. You know what happened to Mrs. DiVaulderbilt?"

"Mmm, a shame. It's a good thing in not leaving."

"Heading somewhere then?"

"Not in particular. Not for a while anyway."

"-"

"How is your family, Popescu?" Justin interrupted. He wasn't in the mood for small talk, but it was painfully clear Vlad wasn't going to let him go.

"Oh uh. Nikola is doing well, he's grumpy as always. He still insists on paying part of the rent. Aurel is also well... uh he's getting a bit bigger. Growing up, you know?"

Justin knew the subject was awkward, but it successfully stopped the oncoming barrage of conversation. Excusing himself, Justin continued his walk by diverging into the D block.

Inside, the D block was just like every other block. It was light, clean, polished. Almost hospital like in its appearance, although no effort was put into making the D block- or any block for that matter- friendly looking. The building was small, it could house up to seven people at once but currently only held two.

Subjects 63 and 75. The last two subjects still held with numbers lower than one hundred. Most passed on, but one of them, subject 96, had escaped. 96 wasn't near as old as the two here, but he was caught a lot younger than most, he being sold to their compound at the age of seven.

The two elders-as the Director liked to refer to them- were hard to find, and extremely hard to keep held. Because of their age, they had far more control of their powers. Add in years of isolation and you have the recipe for some incredibly unstable Abnormals.

Truth be told, neither of the elders had volatile Abnormalities. But they knew how to use them and how to use them well. 63 had to be monitored constantly, but otherwise the block was the most ignored.

Justin decided to end his detour and walk back to his office slowly. With his headache receding, he could focus on G. E. A. R's big project.

Once he was back, he sat down and stared at his computer screen.

Not many employees knew about the project. It's was a silly idea to begin with, and having too many people in on it would inhibit progress.

After all, trying to remove the Abnormality from the Abnormal entirely was no small feat.

Eight Abnormals had already died during the 'extraction' process, and the Director had halted any more extractions until more information regarding Abnormalities themselves becomes known. This was what every test had lead up to, and they still were so so very far away from actually achieving anything at all.

Then, Justin Marne had an idea.

A brilliant, possibly insane idea.

He started typing away, his fingers blurring across the keyboard.


End file.
